Delhi's post-Diwali clean-up drive has come under criticism, with residents' welfare associations (RWAs) and market representatives complaining about piles of garbage remaining on streets a day after the festival. Despite the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) claiming to have deployed additional resources for sanitation operations, several residential colonies and markets continued to report delays in waste collection and removal.
The national capital generates approximately 13,500 tonnes of garbage every day, with waste generation rising by 15-20% during major festivals. The additional burden during Deepawali, including firecracker residue, discarded decorations and packaging material from increased online shopping, has added to the pressure on the city's sanitation infrastructure.
While the civic body maintained that its teams were working to restore cleanliness across the city, residents said the deployment of sanitation workers had been inadequate, particularly in inner residential lanes and areas across east Delhi.
Residential colonies struggle with uncleared waste
Atul Goyal, head of Urja, an umbrella organisation representing RWAs across Delhi, said sweeping and garbage removal in residential neighbourhoods had been progressing slowly.
"There were hardly any sweepers deployed in the residential areas. A lot of firecracker waste has been lying on streets, and packaging waste has also increased with the increase in online shopping. We are hoping that it will be cleared by tomorrow," he said.
The situation was similar in parts of North Delhi, where the main roads had been cleaned but smaller internal lanes continued to remain littered.
Ashok Bhasin, president of the North Delhi Residents' Welfare Association, said sanitation workers appeared to have concentrated on the main streets while neglecting the inner lanes.
"The inner lanes have been ignored by the field workers. The number of people in the field was less on account of the festival," he said.
East Delhi also reported complaints over the handling of festive waste. BS Vohra of the East Delhi RWA joint front said firecracker use had been considerably higher this year, but the deployment of sanitation personnel in the trans-Yamuna areas had not increased correspondingly.
"The commensurate deployment in the trans Yamuna areas has not been seen. We received many complaints about heaps of waste in residential areas. The streets have been swept, but waste has not been removed," he said.
The situation was not uniform across the city's markets either. While areas such as Greater Kailash were relatively better placed, Sarojini Nagar market continued to face garbage-related problems. Ashok Kalra, who represents the Sarojini Nagar market, said the area was littered with waste and traders had to approach the government to ensure that the garbage was lifted.
MCD says full workforce deployed after Diwali
Responding to the complaints, an MCD official said the civic body was now focusing on shifting accumulated garbage from dhalaos, or designated waste collection points, to landfills following the festival.
The official acknowledged that the corporation had faced a shortage of personnel on Diwali but maintained that arrangements had been made in advance to deal with the additional waste generated during the celebrations.
"Now that Diwali is over, our entire workforce will work on shifting the waste from these dhalaos to landfills. On Diwali, we were short-staffed. We have a very focused approach with prior planning to clear additional waste. The entire zonal team of DEMS and Sanitation department is deployed in the field to ensure effective sweeping, timely lifting of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW), and proper clearance of Dhalaos and fixed compactor station," the official said.
The official further said the MCD was operating at full strength, with sanitation teams actively working to maintain cleanliness across their respective zones. Senior management representatives of the concessionaires responsible for waste management were also conducting field inspections to monitor sanitation operations and ensure that cleanliness standards were maintained.
The civic body said the precise quantity of additional garbage generated during Diwali would become clear by Wednesday evening.
Delhi's waste management capacity remains a challenge
The post-festival garbage backlog comes amid broader concerns over Delhi's ability to process the waste it generates daily. Reports in October highlighted that the city produces around 13,500 tonnes of municipal solid waste every day, while its existing processing capacity remains considerably lower.
The MCD processes approximately 57% of the city's daily waste, leaving nearly 5,800 tonnes untreated and adding to the burden on already saturated landfill sites.
The civic body has been exploring ways to expand its waste-processing infrastructure, including seeking land for additional facilities. It is also planning new processing capacity to reduce the volume of untreated garbage accumulating across the capital.
For now, however, the immediate challenge remains clearing the additional waste generated during the festive period, with residents waiting for sanitation operations to catch up with the accumulation on streets and in neighbourhood collection points.